A Guide to Dallas History: Vintage Views-My Grandmother's Photos

My Grandmother's Photographs

Presented here for your enjoyment is a small selection of photos that belonged to my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler. All were taken in or near Dallas, Texas and except where noted, they date from the first decade of the 20th century (1900-1910). Some of the earliest were taken during the period when she and my grandfather were "courting" (1905-1906). To view a larger image, just click on the "thumbnails" below. If want to know something about these photos, you may read About the Photos below.


Edna Rowe and Students, Bryan H.S., c.1898	Group of Young People	Courting Couple (not my grandparents)	On an Outing	On an Outing (2)
Boating on Bachman's Lake	Camping at Bachman's Lake	Main Street Motorcycles	Hazel Kirby and Cousin	Mule-drawn Wagon
House Builders	Mrs. Kitzmiller and kids	Sitting on the Woodpile	Visiting the Kitzmillers	Henry Butler on a Donkey
Ford Plant Employees 1930

About the Photos

First Row

1. Miss Edna Rowe, for whom a Dallas elementary school is named, taught in the Dallas school district for about forty years. She is pictured here, in the center of this photo, with a class of students at Bryan High School (the precurser to Dallas High School) about 1898. The proud young girl wearing some sort of academic achievement ribbon and sitting next to Miss Rowe on her left is my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler. The other childrens' identities are unknown to me.

2. This group of young people, which includes my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler (seated, far right), was taken about 1905.

3. This photo of a playful young couple, whose names are unknown to me, was probably taken in 1905 or 1906. They were undoubtedly friends of my grandmother.

4. This photo of a group of friends on an outing to the countryside around Dallas includes my grandmother and grandfather, who were "courting" at the time. That's them framed in the doorway of this abandoned shed. The photo was probably taken in 1905 or 1906.

5. This photo was obviously taken on the same outing (see #4 above). That's my grandparents, before they were married, being singled out for attention by their umbrella-toting friends.

Second Row

6. This photo, of two young women in row boats, was probably taken at Bachman's Lake about 1905. That's my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler, on the left. On the right, laughing, is her friend Laura Henderson.

7. This photo, believed to have been taken at Bachman's Lake about 1905, includes my grandfather, Herman H. Butler (left) and his then-employer, Will Crow (right). The identity of the man in the middle is unknown to me. The two women in the background are also unidentified.

8. Around 1905-1906 my grandfather, Herman H. Butler (who probably took this photo) was a mechanic at the Crow and Thomas Bicycle and Motorcycle Shop, 355 (now 1521-1523) Main Street, Dallas, Texas. The site is now occupied by St. Jude's Chapel. Included in this photo is one of his two employers, Will Crow (standing in street, far right). The only woman standing in the photo (far left) is my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler. How about those Indian motorcycles!

9. My grandmother was friends with the Kirby family, who lived on ? Street in Dallas. Hazel Kirby, I believe, is the girl on the left. The girl on the left is her cousin, whose name is unknown to me. I don't know the dog's name either.

10. The identities of the two men and the little child in this mule-drawn wagon are unknown to me. I am not even completely sure the photo was taken in Dallas but it may have been. The houses seem too close together to be some place in the country.

Third Row

11. I can truthfully say that my ancestors literally helped to build Dallas. This group of carpenters, photographed sometime between 1906 and 1910 (probably) includes my grandfather, Herman H. Butler (seated, left, eating lunch), and his father-in-law (my great-grandfather), Isaac H. Tate, seen here standing just to the right of his son-in-law. The identities of the other men are unknown to me. The location of this house is also unknown to me. I wonder if it is still standing?

12. My grandparents were friends with a Kitzmiller family. This photo of Mrs. Kitzmiller, in her backyard someplace in Dallas, was taken in early 1907. The little boy sitting on the ground in the center of the photo is my Uncle Robert Hugh Butler, who was born in a house on Gaston Avenue in 1906 and died before he reached his first birthday.

13. That's my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler, (center, foreground) holding her first child, Robert Hugh Butler, who died in infancy. Her friend, Mrs. Kitzmiller, is seated top right. The identities of the other three women in this photo are unknown to me. I believe this photo was taken in the Kitzmiller's backyard in early 1907.

14. This more formal group photo, which was probably taken by my grandfather, Herman H. Butler, in early 1907, includes my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler and her son Robert Hugh (seated, first row, far left). That's Mrs. Kitzmiller on the top row, second from the right. The identities of the other people in the photo are unknown or uncertain to me. The photo was probably taken at the Kitzmiller home in Dallas.

15. For many years itinerant photographers made the rounds in Dallas neighborhoods, taking photographs of children on the backs of donkeys or seated in goat-drawn wagons. This photo was taken about 1909 at my grandparents' home, 309 (later 925) Peak Street in East Dallas. That's my Uncle Henry O. Butler on the back of the donkey and my grandmother, Alice Tate Butler, crouched down behind it, holding Henry steady (and not realizing, apparently, that she was not invisible to the camera).

Fourth Row

16. Sometime after the Ford Motor Plant was built on East Grand Avenue in 1924, my grandfather, Herman H. Butler, went to work there. This photo of a group of Ford Company employees, was taken on August 22, 1930. My grandfather is on the second row, second from the right. The identities of all the other men in this photo are unknown to me. Ironically, my grandfather never owned a car. He either used public transportation or rode a bicycle and since he lived so close to the Ford Plant (about two blocks away), he could easily walk to work.